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Martinique - History

The first date of the official history of Martinique is the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1502, the day of St. Martin. The island has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years BC The Arawaks were present about 100 years before our era before being driven by the Caribbean Indians who became masters of the island in 1350. These two peoples Originated in the Orinoco basin in present-day Venezuela. Martinique knows different names: Madidina, "the island of flowers" or Jouanacaera, "island with iguanas".

Christopher Columbus arrived there on June 15, 1502, the day of Saint Martin, on the site of what is today the commune of Carbet. Then the French took possession of the island from the landing of the flibustier Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc on 15 September 1635. The first settlers were acting on behalf of the Compagnie des Iles d'Amériques, created the same year by Cardinal de Richelieu and Founded Fort-Saint-Pierre and then Fort-Royal, which became the cities of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France.

Cohabitation between French settlers and the Caribbean is characterized by periods of settlement and more bloody periods. At the end of the XVII th century, the Caribbean leave the island. Municipalities like Case-Pilote or Rivière-Pilote, named in honor of Caribbean chiefs remain. The colonists developed the cultivation of indigo, coffee and sugar cane. This agricultural economy is based on slavery and the slave trade which will be regulated from 1685 and the publication of the Code Noir by Colbert, Minister of Finance of Louis XIV.

During the wars of the Revolution, Martinique was conquered in 1794 by the English who prevented the abolition of slavery. Retrieved by France after the treaty of Amiens, slavery was maintained there by Napoleon. In 1830, a ship capsized in rough weather near Anse Caffard. Of the 46 bodies recovered, all but four were Africans destined for the illicit slave trade. The tragic event is honored in a moving memorial near Diamant created by local artist Laurent Valère featuring 15 massive concrete statues.

The Revolution of 1848 found an echo in Martinique where slaves revolt so that the abolition of slavery applied without delay what they will obtain as of May 27, 1848. Victor Schoelcher, a French minister for overseas possessions, convinced the government to sign an Emancipation Proclamation. François Perrinon, the first mulatto to graduate from the Ecole polytechnique, brought decrees to abolish slavery from Paris a few days later. At the fall of the Second Empire, the bourgeoisie de couleur settled in the political landscape and Martinique was still represented in Parliament since 1871.

On March 8, 1902, came the most devastating natural disaster in Caribbean history; the Mont Pelée volcano erupted, destroying the city of St. Pierre and claiming the lives of all but one of its 30,000 inhabitants. As a result, the capital of Martinique was permanently moved to Fort-de-France.

The beginning of the twentieth century was the occasion for strikes to demand a better recognition on the part of the metropole. About 23,000 West Indians and Guyanese left Fort-de-France to fight in Europe during the Great War of 1914-1918. In 1938, Martinique claimed, by a unanimous resolution, its assimilation into a French department.

Martinique is a French overseas department, since the law of 19 March 1946 passed after important debates in the Parliament, during which Aimé Césaire then young deputy-mayor and rapporteur of the bill of departmentalisation takes the floor in the Hemicycle of the National Assembly: " Even before examining the merits of this classification, you can not fail to salute what is touching in such a claim of the old colonies. At a time when doubts are being expressed about the solidarity of what is known as the empire, at a time when the foreigner is echoing rumors of dissent, Integration is a tribute to France and its genius, and this tribute in the current international situation takes on a singular importance".

From December 20 to 22, 1959, the Martiniquais revolted against the injustices within the island but also between the island and the metropolis. These riots were repressed in blood with three people being killed.

General de Gaulle issued decrees aimed at strengthening the consultative powers of the general councils of the Overseas Departments in May 1960. The latter saw their powers increased in the legislative and regulatory field as well as in financial matters. In 1982, under the impetus of the Defferre law, Martinique was erected in a monodépartementale region. In 2010, Martinicans and Martiniquais adopted a referendum that created a unique community. The Territorial Collectivity of Martinique is established in place of the General Council and the Regional Council.